


Ring of Lies

by goodisrelative



Category: The Mentalist
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2009-02-13
Updated: 2009-02-13
Packaged: 2017-10-18 04:19:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 367
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/184900
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/goodisrelative/pseuds/goodisrelative
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Call it penance.  Call it love.  It's a reminder and a promise.  Vengeance and Death.  It's all that is left to him.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Ring of Lies

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for the beta, [](http://pixie-on-acid.livejournal.com/profile)[**pixie_on_acid**](http://pixie-on-acid.livejournal.com/). You always rock.

_**Fanfic: The Mentalist: Ring of Lies**_  
 _Title:_ Ring of Lies  
 _Author:_ [](http://goodisrelative.livejournal.com/profile)[**goodisrelative**](http://goodisrelative.livejournal.com/)  
 _Spoilers:_ a tiny, tiny reference to the last scene of _Crimson Casanova_  
 _Rating:_ PG  
 _Characters/Pairing:_ Patrick Jane, reference to Red John / none  
 _Summary:_ Call it penance. Call it love. It's a reminder and a promise. Vengeance and Death. It's all that is left to him.

 _Disclaimer:_ There is no profit, just fun to be had here. CBS and it's producers own The Menatalist and its characters Patrick Jane and Red John.  
 _Author's Note:_ Thanks for the beta, [](http://pixie-on-acid.livejournal.com/profile)[**pixie_on_acid**](http://pixie-on-acid.livejournal.com/). You always rock.  


* * *

  


He touches the ring, twirling it on his finger. It hasn't been off since she put it on a lifetime ago. A life ago. But it's a lie, just as everything he shows the world is. There is no truth left in the world he sees.

But that, too, is a lie. There is one truth left to him. He knows it will be slow coming, because he deserves the penance he serves. But, one day, he knows that Red John will be dead. It is the only thing that matters to him.

And therein lies yet another lie. The team, they matter to him now. They didn't at first; they were a means to his end. But now, they mattered to him enough that he will protect them from things – even himself when it comes to it.

Which is why, he knows, that his end is now a lie. They won't let him have have what he's dreamed of since that fatal night - death. The death of Red John. Physical death of himself.

Because the truth is Patrick Jane died the night he found his wife and child dead. He's just a vessel for revenge and vengeance against Red John. But that is fading like the shine on his tarnished wedding band.

Call it penance. Call it love. It's a reminder and a promise. Vengeance and Death. It's all that is left to him. Truth only matters to the living and he's been dead for years. Justice depends on the eyes of the seeker. All Jane seeks is revenge; there can't be justice for him because no one can bring them back.  



End file.
